Carbon fiber props. Opinions/experiences go here!

Thought I'd start a "central" thread where people could post the SOURCE of the carbon fiber props they purchased and their OPINIONS and experiences on the flight characteristics, qualities, appearance, and other characteristics of the props. CF props seem to be a frequent upgrade tried by almost everyone at one time or another on their Phantom, so I hope this post can become a resource for those who plan on plunking down some cash so that they can make the right decision. OK...so I'll kick it off.

OPINION: These props are quite inexpensive - $15.00 for two pair. Just enough to test their worthiness. Despite the fact the seller is "Cheerwing USA" these props came from Kowloon, Hong Kong. The images depicted in the ad are accurate. The fit to the motor shaft is just fine, tight and secure. The prop hub is considerably thinner (contains less material) than the stock. This would likely become important in a crash. I bet pretty much any contact will result in blade separation from the hub. These props are considerably lighter and far stiffer than the stock self-tightening props provided in my v.1.1.1 Phantom. In initial tests these stiff black props proved to be considerably more noisy than the stock props. I installed them at night, so my initial flight amounted to little more than hovering close-in in my driveway. They work fine. They MAY have more lifting power than stock, I just can't say at this time. I thought I'd like the look of the black props against the white Phantom, but I was wrong. Meh...I'll still use them for the possible performance enhancement. I'd give them a three out of five star rating. I won't be buying any more of these, though.

I picked up a set of eBay also from a Chinese manufacturer, who guaranteed they were balanced & better then the original blades. They ended up being non-balanced & the flight was noticeably worse. I’ve been ripped off once, Id like to know where I can get a legit pair.

I am only interested if they improve flight in some way for video taking. Are they smoother, quieter (not that I use sound anyway but may draw less attention while in the air). Do they make the Phantom more stable in any way (stiffer props = less flex).

I am not interested in whether you can whizz about quicker or ascend like an F16 fighter jet etc etc. The Phantom is not a 3D stunt model and never can be I have my collective pitch heli's for that fun so I am curious as to whether video is improved or not.... or is it all snake oil ?

Hi all,
I use CF props (sorry PF it was so long ago that I bought them I cannot provide a source other than to say it was off Ebay) and I must admit that I like them. Quite a lot of it for me is to do with the aesthetics - I like accessorising the white shell with black

I have found that they perform well and I think that their stiffer properties provide a crispness to the flight that is somehow not quite the same with the stock props. Noisewise there is not much difference but if you pushed me I would say they are a LITTLE bit louder.

I have had a couple of 'topples' and they have survived, but then I do use prop guards... and before you lot say lose the training wheels :lol: I like the guards (painted black) because I find them visually pleasing. I am quite comfortable flying with or without them.

OK...so I have some objective information w/r/t these CF props. They have a lot of vibration as delivered. They are clearly not balanced. How I know this is I velco'd my MD-80 spy camera in the usual spot as I have a dozen times before with the original DJI props. I took it for a test flight this morning. The video shows WAY more shake than with the original props. I would also say the props are around 10 - 15% more noisy. That has got to be an energy waster. Since I was flying on a tight schedule before work, I can't comment on flight time. I just snagged the video, and now I'm off to get ready for work.

I'll re-assess my opinion after I balance these props by using the same criteria. My prop balancer MAY arrive from California today, if the tracking info is accurate. But then again, my Jumper 600 kit was supposed to be here YESTERDAY, and it never arrived. <cries like a baby>. :lol:

Oh...also, I downloaded the "Seismometer" App for my IPhone. Cool app. THAT would be another way to compare balance/vibration and to do a comparison.

I have bought two sets (broke one of the first set) off eBay, 9x4.7, for @ $24/set from China. They need balancing but with a load they give me much better flying times than either the stock props OR the 9" 3 blades every one else likes. I am still wondering why on that last one...but there is no question. So they are my day-to-day go-to props. The are brittle, so call for more careful flying.

I have a set from DSLR Pros. Put them on my Phantom with Gimbal/FPV and it flew like garbage. Put the stock back on and it was great. I then put the CF on my naked Phantom and it flew far better but I still like the stock.
SO, I'm not a fan. Granted, the ones I have may be faulty or non-balanced, but I'm fully happy with the stock.

Buying Carbon props is very hit and miss with lots of crap quality along with some decent ones. I am tempted to try these new tiger 9x3 premium quality props, real factory balancing and better lift then stock. Still not sure if they will give my heavy setup more lift then the cheapo 9050 GWS tris that are surprisingly good up to 1400g AUW. I got some very well made graupner clones in carbon 8x5 and 9x5 but they look great and are tough but the 8x5s fly like crap on my setup and 9x5's no better then stock dji 8 inch plastic.

They also make a set of these for stock DJI motors but I have tiger motors so the regular props will work better for me. They are much more expensive then any other props but these guys actually make proper quality gear unlike lots of the generic stuff being made in random Chinese sweat shops. By the flight times the vision gets at its weight it may well be worth trying a set of the new dji props that look quite similar to the tigers except they are plastic vs premium carbon fiber.

Any props you get you need proper balancing and I have bought some that claim to be balanced but were still a bit out, interested to see if the tigers actually are balanced but at that price you'd be expecting them to be. If your crashing a lot then best to avoid expensive props but now that I got a gimbal i will likely take a few less risks to avoid trashing it.

I have a set from DSLR Pros. Put them on my Phantom with Gimbal/FPV and it flew like garbage. Put the stock back on and it was great. I then put the CF on my naked Phantom and it flew far better but I still like the stock.
SO, I'm not a fan. Granted, the ones I have may be faulty or non-balanced, but I'm fully happy with the stock.

Buying Carbon props is very hit and miss with lots of crap quality along with some decent ones.

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That is the exact purpose of this thread - to direct people to the best possible CF props (if they're so inclined to use them) based upon actual first-hand reports and user reviews. So...if you've got a good set, let us know where ya got 'em!

martcerv said:

If your crashing a lot then best to avoid expensive props but now that I got a gimbal i will likely take a few less risks to avoid trashing it.

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Yep. Exactly how I feel about the GoPro. When that is on-board I'm not doing anything abrupt while filming, and I feel I'd benefit from any extended flight time brought about by using the CF props. For general tooling around and hot-dogging, the stock props are just fine.

The tricky thing is that with the generic carbon fiber props like the gemfan and other unbranded I have had good and bad ones from the same suppliers. Some batches are good and some pretty poor so its hard to even give a direct recomendation as one batch may be much better then the next. I still have never broken a prop inflight without hitting something first so none have been that bad. Some have had bits of carbon peal off and prop holes are sometimes cut so poorly they are impossible to balance.

I was using 8x45 and 9x45 from helipal supposedly from japanese material and these were better then some others I bought that looked almost identical from another shop and branded gemfan. Though that name is used by just about everyone in china and ive had some ok and some complete crap branded as such. The 9x45 props from helipal are my second choice but I dont currently have a full set and as they werent better for me then what I am using atm I dont see any reason to get more.

like I said I want to try the new dji plastic and tiger props as these are a promising profile at 9 inches and should give good flight performance on heavier setups much like the triblades I use now. I know a few guys that love the larger tiger props on bigger multi's so its good to see them make something for smaller frames too.

I have been on the same set of CF props since July and really like them personally. I got them from e-models although they had clearly imported them. Well made with the DJI keyed notches. The balance was 'ok' but after a proper balance they were spot on.
They give me good strong lift and are much better that the stock props IMO.
I will grab a set of tri-blades sometime soon too and give them a whirl..... as Martcerv suggests it is all down to trying what is right for you.

I have a set from DSLR Pros. Put them on my Phantom with Gimbal/FPV and it flew like garbage. Put the stock back on and it was great. I then put the CF on my naked Phantom and it flew far better but I still like the stock.
SO, I'm not a fan. Granted, the ones I have may be faulty or non-balanced, but I'm fully happy with the stock.

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I flew the 9x45's from DSLRPros for a number of flights and liked them a lot. I initially upped the gains to the settings they recommended, but then ended up backing down to something closer to pitch/roll around 170 rather than the 200+ they recommended. Now I'm waiting for my reamer to arrive so I can put the GWS Triblades on.

VERY curious to get feedback on the new T-motor 9x3's that @martcerv mentioned. Please post as soon as someone tries them.

I have a set from DSLR Pros. Put them on my Phantom with Gimbal/FPV and it flew like garbage. Put the stock back on and it was great. I then put the CF on my naked Phantom and it flew far better but I still like the stock.
SO, I'm not a fan. Granted, the ones I have may be faulty or non-balanced, but I'm fully happy with the stock.

Click to expand...

I flew the 9x45's from DSLRPros for a number of flights and liked them a lot. I initially upped the gains to the settings they recommended, but then ended up backing down to something closer to pitch/roll around 170 rather than the 200+ they recommended. Now I'm waiting for my reamer to arrive so I can put the GWS Triblades on.

VERY curious to get feedback on the new T-motor 9x3's that @martcerv mentioned. Please post as soon as someone tries them.

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I havent been able to find any local stockists of these yet and my local hobby shop does stock tiger gear so I asked them to get me a set. No idea when they will come in but could be interesting going by what DJI is getting from the new vision props.

I have recently ordered a set from Flying Hobby out of Hong Kong. They're branded Nova and I suspect that they will be absolute ****, although they are supposedly made specifically for the P2 & P2V. Not sure about all this prop balancing mumbo-jumbo though. If these things shake like a spastic then I'll just pull em off and go back to stock DJI

How do you balance the new P2 self-tightening props? I see a guy across the pond is selling a threaded rod but the cost is way high to get it to the US. I think it is just a rod with both left and right handed 6mm threads.

How do you balance the new P2 self-tightening props? I see a guy across the pond is selling a threaded rod but the cost is way high to get it to the US. I think it is just a rod with both left and right handed 6mm threads.

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You are correct, but I am having a lot of trouble finding a left handed thread 6mm around here, just have to go to a machine shop and have them cut it. I bought the right handed one and it works, but I want to have the other end threaded for left so I have both on one rod.